Match of the Century
by Space Cadet Skip
Summary: A surprise match in the rain reveals many things... TezuFuji, Golden Pair


"Alright, practice is over! Good job today, everybody!" Tezuka told everybody in his usual commanding tone. "You may all go."

"You were incredible today, Momo!" Eiji exclaimed, patting his teammate on the back.

"Hey, you did great today too, partner!" Oishi said, pulling on his friend's arm. "Why don't you and I go get some burgers?"

"I know!" Momo shouted suddenly. "Let's ALL go get burgers- my treat!"

A shocked silence followed this comment, broken after a short time by Inui: "Chances of Momoshiro offering to pay for burgers again in this lifetime: 0."

"Well then, let's go before he changes his mind! Echizen said, and the others agreed. Well, most of them.

"We'll catch up with you later," Fuji said, gesturing to him and Tezuka.

"WHAT?" Takashi yelled. "You heard the data- this will never happen again! What could POSSIBLY be more important than FREE BURGERS?"

"Tezuka and I are going to play a match," Fuji replied, and the chatter stopped. Tezuka versus Fuji? That could be the match of the century! There was a thoughtful silence as everyone pondered which was more important, broken when Kaidoh's stomach growled loudly.

"Burgers it is!"

---

"All right, let's have a good match!" Fuji said cheerfully. Tezuka nodded, and the two took their places on the court.

The game went on for quite a while. Both players were on top of their game. They hardly even noticed when the sky clouded up and the rain began to fall.

"Hmmm… it's not raining that hard. We'll keep playing, right, Tezuka?" The captain nodded briskly in response, and the game continued.

---

"Eiji… now it's raining! Why aren't we with everyone else?" Oishi whispered loudly as the pair peeked out from a bush just outside the tennis court.

"Because!" Eiji whispered. "We can get burgers anytime! This is the match of a lifetime!"

"Okay… but why are we in a bush?"

Eiji couldn't think of a response, and so simply pretended he hadn't heard.

---

The rain began to fall harder, and anyone who had been outside before had sought shelter long ago. But Fuji and Tezuka kept up. Fuji served with all his might, and it seemed that Tezuka would return it easily. But this time, something was wrong. As soon as his racket connected with the ball, Tezuka's face twisted in pain. Clutching his shoulder, he fell to the ground, clearly in agony. Fuji felt his heart speed up, threatening to burst out of his chest.

"Tezuka?" Fuji called warily from across the court. "Tezuka! _Kunimitsu!_" Hearing no audible response from him, Fuji jumped over the net and sprinted over, kneeling in front of the injured captain. "Are you all right?" he asked, full of concern.

Blushing slightly, Tezuka pointedly turned his head away from Fuji. "I'll be fine," he muttered. "It's not that serious. We can continue playing."

"Are you _crazy?_" Fuji yelled. You can't play in your condition!"

"Why do you care so much, anyway?" Tezuka asked, still looking away from Fuji.

"Why do I _care?_" Fuji sputtered. "Because- because…" The blue-eyed boy grabbed Tezuka's chin and turned his head towards him. Looking into his eyes, he took a deep breath and said, "Because I love you!"

Tezuka's eyes widened; for a moment, his emotionless mask was shattered. His head spinning, he did what anyone would do in such a situation: He pressed his lips to Fuji's, engulfing him in a passionate kiss. Fuji returned it with equal emotion, and the pain in Tezuka's shoulder dissipated as the kiss went on. It seemed to both of them that nothing mattered but that one moment, that they had each other, and that was enough.

---

"Hey, where are Eiji and Oishi?" Echizen asked.

"Oh yeah, I didn't even notice they were gone! Oh well, less for me to pay for- uh-oh!" Grinning sheepishly, Momo turned out his pockets to reveal that they were empty. "Know what that means… Inui's paying!"

"Odds I should have seen that coming: 100." The spiky-haired boy muttered.

---

Eiji and Oishi turned to each other and stared. "Well, uh… Didn't see that coming!" Eiji said slowly, lost for words.

"Sure didn't- whoa!" Oishi had tried to adjust his feet (which had gone numb from sitting on them this whole time), but the wet ground had caused him to slip. He landed on top of Eiji, and Eiji, with all his agility and acrobatic skill, couldn't move out of the way in time. Or maybe he just didn't want to. Whatever the case, Eiji and Oishi locked lips, and neither of them made a move to pull away. Without realizing it, the two rolled out of the bush as they continued their kiss…

---

It was around this time that Echizen, Kaidoh, Takashi, Inui, and a very bruised Momo returned to the tennis court, wondering if Tezuka and Fuji were still playing. Well, there they were walking away… _hand in hand?_ All five of them simultaneously rubbed their eyes. No, they just imagined it, that was all. Shifting their gaze to the right, they saw Eiji and Oishi…

"Okay, awkward…" Momo muttered.

"Let's just… pretend we never saw…"

"Uh… we could catch a movie!"

"Sounds good! Inui's-"

"I'm NOT paying!"

---

For vierblith- Well, I tried!


End file.
